y. "I don't like this place, Maggie," he said, "and all
those women. It's religion again, and it's worse than that Chapel. You
don't seem to be able to get away from religion. You're not happy, my
dear."

"Yes, I am," she answered firmly.

"No, you're not. And I'm not. But it will be all right in the end, I've
no doubt. You'll never desert me, Maggie."

"I'll never desert you," Maggie answered.

He bent down and kissed her, his breath whisky-laden. She kissed him
eagerly, tenderly. For a moment she felt that she would go with him,
just as she was, and leave them all.

"Uncle," she said, "you understand how it is, don't you? We'd have
asked you to stay if we'd known."

"Oh, that's all right." He looked at her mysteriously. "That new
sister-in-law of yours was shocked with me. They wouldn't have me in
the house. I saw that. And I only had one glass at the station. I'm not
much of a man in society now. That's the trouble ... But next time I'll
come down and just send you a line and you'll come to see me in my own
little place--won't you? I'm in the devil of a mess, Maggie, that's the
truth, and I don't know how to get out of it. I've been a bit of a
fool, I have."

She saw the look of terror in his eye again.

"Would some money--" she suggested.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's past five pounds now, my dear." He sighed heavily.
"Well, I must be getting along. You'll catch your death of cold
standing out here. We ought to have been together all this time, you
know. It would have been better for both of us."

He kissed her again and left her. She slowly returned into the house.
Curiously, he had made her happier by his visit. Her pluck returned.
She needed it. Grace was now stirred by the most active of all her
passions--fear.

Nevertheless Grace and Paul behaved very well. Maggie understood the
shock that visit must have given them. She watched Grace imagining the
excited stories that would flow from the lips of Miss Purves and Mrs.
Maxse. She was determined, however, that Grace and Paul should not
suffer in silence--and Uncle Mathew must be vindicated.

At supper that night she plunged:

"Uncle Mathew's been very ill," she began, "for a long time now. He
wasn't himself this afternoon, I'm afraid. He was very upset at some
news that he'd just had. And then meeting so many strangers at once--"

Maggie saw that Grace avoided her eyes.

"I don't think we'll discuss it, Maggie, if you don't mind. Mr.
Cardinal was stran